Text: Jeremiah 10:23
OT Text Referred to: Proverbs 20:24
Subject: human inability to direct one's own steps
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Both texts affirm that human beings cannot autonomously determine their life's course. Jeremiah confesses "a man's way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps" (לֹא לָאָדָם דַּרְכּוֹ, lo la'adam darko), while Proverbs 20:24 asks "A man's steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?" Both use the key vocabulary of דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, "way") and צַעַד (tsa'ad, "step") to describe God's sovereign governance of human paths. Jeremiah applies this wisdom insight to the specific crisis of Judah's imminent judgment, drawing from proverbial theology to ground his prayer for tempered discipline (v. 24) rather than consuming wrath.